Those still around are in their late 80s and 90s. Some can no longer recall the details of that extraordinary day. Others speak with the humility and reticence typical of men of their time.

Some 73,000 Americans stormed the beaches and fields of Normandy along with 83,000 Brits and Canadians. A total of 4,400 Allied troops lost their lives on what became known as the Longest Day. But their efforts helped break Nazi Germany’s stranglehold on Europe and led to the defeat of Adolf Hitler’s monstrous regime within a year.

Gen. George C. Marshall told Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the invasion, that it was “the greatest victory in the history of warfare.”

It was much more. World War II and its aftermath — the occupation of Germany and Japan, which transformed the Axis powers into prosperous democracies; the Marshall Plan; the Cold War and the protection of freedom in Europe and elsewhere — were in my opinion the single greatest achievement in American history since the nation’s founding.

Yes, there were many problems (which I’ll discuss later). But an emerging superpower used its economic might and “can-do” spirit to further the ideals of democracy and freedom on which this country was founded. Everything since — except maybe the civil rights bill of 1964, the moon landing of 1969 and the final victory over Communism in the Cold War — pales in comparison.

Yellen on changes in monetary policy approaches

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Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen focuses on the changes in policy approaches that have significantly affected monetary policy discussions in the U.S. during her speech at the inaugural Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture in Washington, D.C. Photo: Getty

And that’s our problem. The malaise Americans express so often now reflects a sense we’ve seen our better days, that future generations will not enjoy the freedom and prosperity we had. If you polled Americans, I believe most would say we’re not the country we were.

And we’re not, not because the Greatest Generation were superior people, but because their life experiences were dramatically different.

The vast majority of the 12 million Americans who served in World War II lived through the poverty and desperation of the Great Depression.

They were literally lean and hungry. The average World War II soldier was five-foot, eight inches tall and weighed 144 pounds. (In 2008, nearly 39% of Americans from 18 to 24 were overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control.)

A mere one in 10 had attended college. One in three had only a grade-school education. But even America’s most favored sons thrust themselves into the heat of battle. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. gave their lives. John F. Kennedy and George H.W. Bush were war heroes.

On the home front, five million American women entered the labor force and, alongside the men, in America’s factories built the Arsenal of Democracy. They produced 80,000 landing craft, 100,000 tanks and armored cars, 300,000 airplanes, 15 million guns and 41 billion rounds of ammunition.

Americans pulled together in ways that would be unthinkable today. They saved bacon fat, planted “victory gardens” and lived with rationing of meat, sugar and gasoline.

Still, reported historian Allan M. Winkler, “seven out of 10 Americans said they had not had to make any ‘real sacrifices’ as a result of the war.”

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